War in Gaza forces 46,000 Israeli businesses to close

Since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, around 46,000 businesses in Israel have had to close, reports the Hebrew newspaper Maariv was reported this week, adding that Israel is now “in collapse.”

The report notes that the ongoing war in the besieged enclave has hit the economy hard, with many of the businesses affected being small enterprises.

The CEO of an Israeli credit risk management firm called CofaceBdi told the Hebrew newspaper that other sectors were also affected.

“…About 77 percent of the companies that have closed since the beginning of the war – that is about 35,000 – are small businesses with up to five employees and are therefore the most vulnerable in the economy,” said Yoel Amir.

“The sectors most at risk are the construction industry and therefore the entire ecosystem that surrounds it: ceramics, air conditioning, aluminum, building materials and more,” he added, referring to the risk ratings.

The report notes that since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, there has been “almost no foreign tourism” and that “almost no sector has been spared.”

Among the sectors most affected is retail, which includes furniture, fashion, household goods, entertainment and transport.

In the south and north of Israel, where active exchanges of fire are currently taking place, the agricultural sector has also declined.

In the north, Hezbollah responded to Israeli fire and attacks on civilians, forcing tens of thousands of settlers to leave the area. In Lebanon, tens of thousands were also forcibly displaced due to Israeli attacks.

Since October, the Yemeni Houthi group has launched operations to stop or attack ships in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Attacks on Israel-affiliated ships have also contributed to the decline of the Israeli economy by forcing ships to travel longer routes and limiting revenue at key ports such as Eilat.

According to CofaceBdi, around 60,000 Israeli companies are expected to close by the end of this year.

Experts warn that a potential all-out war with Lebanon, which several Israeli politicians and officials have previously mentioned, could plunge the Israeli economy into an even deeper downward spiral.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, around 38,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israel’s war against Gaza, and another 10,000 people are said to be buried under the rubble.

However, according to a medical journal in the Lancet, the final number could be as high as 186,000 people.

The war has wreaked havoc in the enclave and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis that has destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure.